


grace and sunset

by EllieLovesYou



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Werewolves, F/M, coffee shop owner and barista, more than actually in the story, most characters are mentioned - Freeform, peter hale was a decent father in this, stalia secret santa, the rest of the hale family tho?? ehh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 23:37:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9042779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllieLovesYou/pseuds/EllieLovesYou
Summary: On the corner of Grace and Sunset, in the sleepy town of Beacon Hills, you can find a tiny coffee shop. It’s red brick exterior is so bright, it’s an eyesore, the sign that hangs above the doors is crooked and there’s a graffitied penis on the side of the building but it’s Malia Tate’s pride and joy.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for my secret santa! It's been posted on my tumblr (josephinewilson.tumblr.com just in case you're wondering) and so i thought why not post it here? I hope you like it and Happy Holidays!!
> 
> (also if you can spy the very tiny one tree hill reference in this then i love you)

On the corner of Grace and Sunset, in the sleepy town of Beacon Hills, you can find a tiny coffee shop. It’s red brick exterior is so bright, it’s an eyesore, the sign that hangs above the doors is crooked and there’s a graffitied penis on the side of the building but it’s Malia Tate’s pride and joy.

She inherited the busted up shop from her father; Peter Hale. 

Barely eighteen when her Aunt Talia called her with the news that her father had been in an accident-- _ died on impact _ is what she can remember before her memory gets all fuzzy. Her mom holds her while she cries and her step dad whispers comforting words while she tries to deal with her cracked heart.

Two weeks after his funeral, they read his will and in it, he leaves  _ Hale’s Coffee _ to his darling daughter, and only child, Malia Tate. 

Of course, at first, she doesn’t want that kind of responsibility--it’s a business for god sakes and she just turned eighteen; that shop had been her father’s most prized possession (after herself, of course, is what he always told her) she didn’t want to mess it up. Didn’t want to screw up what he loved most.

But after a lot of prodding from her aunt, her cousins and, even, her mom she decides to take it on. Only because it was her dad’s and she wants to keep it going for him. Her family promises to help her as best they can so she doesn’t struggle and that’s that.

Now, two years later, she can’t imagine being anywhere else.

The sign that once read;  _ Hale’s Coffee  _ now reads  _ Peter’s  _ and the sign, as much as she tries, is still crooked and she just doesn’t have the heart to paint the god awful bright red bricks something else (although she paints over that damn penis, at least, three times a week but it’s always back) but now it flourishes under her watchful eye.

Malia had decided to just tweak everything; small changes that would push the shop in the right direction rather than keep it just how it was and let it run into the ground. 

The coffee shop on the corner of Grace and Sunset is her home, her pride, her joy. 

She just never knew how much  _ love  _ it could bring her too.

 

-

 

Stiles Stilinski, with his best friend on his arm and a urge to start over, moves to a Northern California town by the name of Beacon Hills. It’s small, not very well known and far enough for Stiles to forget about the heartbreak he was leaving behind in New York.

But now they’re there and have no clue what to do.

“Hey” Stiles sticks his arm out, his finger pointing right down the street right at a bright red building that sits on the corner of the street. Scott bats his hand away while keeping one hand on the wheel (Stiles graciously allowed Scott to drive his precious Roscoe after nearly falling asleep while driving somewhere in Arizona)“that lady from earlier said they have good coffee, we should stop there”

“Should we talk about your addiction later or--?”

“Shut up” he lightly slaps Scott’s arm “just stop there so we can try and figure out what we’re doing”

“Yeah, yeah” he parks on the side of the street “we both know ‘figure out what we’re doing’ means ‘I just want to down the biggest cup of coffee I can find”

He grins, hand over his heart “You know me so well, Scotty”

They walk into the coffee shop and they both are hit with the overwhelming sense of  _ comfort _ . While the red exterior made Stiles squint a little too hard, the interior feels home-y with one part of the shop nothing but chairs and tables that have books scattered on top of them while the other was couches and a loveseat with a coffee table in the middle of it all with old board games stacked on top. The duo walks to the counter and are greeted by a smiling barista “Hi!” she chirps, a little too happily for Stiles’ taste but Scott already looks like he has plans to propose to the girl “How can I help you?”

“Um” Stiles glances up at the menu behind the girl which is a blackboard with everything written on it in different colored chalk “Can I just get a regular cup of coffee? And he--” he looks at Scott who is practically drooling “He’ll take a white chocolate mocha”

“Okay” she taps on the register “one coffee and mocha. That’ll be ten dollars”  Stiles takes one look at Scott and takes Scott’s wallet out his back pocket, he quickly takes out a twenty and hands it over. The girl (Kira judging by the nametag on her smock),  gives them a small smile and his change “the name for the order?”

“Stiles” he puts the money back in Scott’s wallet and then shoves it back in his friend’s back pocket “c’mon, buddy” he grabs the sleeve of Scott’s jacket and drags him away from the poor barista, he plops them both down on a couch and sighs “You know, girls think it’s creepy when you stare like that”

“What?” Scott shakes his head, a frown in place “I wasn’t staring”

“Please” a beat “Thanks for paying by the way” Scott just sighs causing Stiles to grin “We need to figure what to do, Scotty--we have nothing”

“Not true, our stuff is in the backseat”

“Oh yeah Roscoe makes a great home” Stiles snarks back before dragging his hand through his hair “We need to find work”

“On the way into town I saw a clinic. Vet. Maybe that’ll be something”

“Great, you can help all the furry creatures of this town while I what? Beg for money on the side of the street?”

Scott opens his mouth to say something but then a loud ‘Stiles!’ rings through the half full shop. The paler of the two stands up, not wanting to risk Scott getting up and never coming back, and goes to the counter where Kira is standing with a smile that rivals Scott’s “Sugar and cream is on all the tables” she says politely as she pushes the cups over “And if you’re looking for a job, we’re hiring”

Stiles squints at her “how’d you know?”

“You talk pretty loud”

Well, yeah, that’s not news, his dad and every teacher he’s ever had said the same thing. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other “Who would I have to talk to about a job?”

“Malia. She owns the place”

He squints, again “Not Peter?”

Kira shakes her head “No, Peter was her dad” Stiles catches the ‘was’ pretty quickly; he said the same line about his mom throughout his life “She’s owned it for the past two years, she’s not in today but she’s coming in tomorrow”

“Yeah” he gives her a smile “thanks”  She grins at him, widely, says ‘no problem’ before going back to whatever she should’ve been doing. He walks back over to Scott who’s looking at him, curiously “what?”

“What took so long?”

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t hitting on your imaginary girlfriend” he places the cups down on the coffee table in front of them 

“She’s not--”

“She was talking about a job. Says their hiring” Stiles cuts in “might be what we need”

“When can you talk to the manager or whatever?” Scott plucks the coffee from the table and takes a sip, followed by a little hum letting Stiles know that he liked the coffee.

“Tomorrow and the owner, actually”

“Peter?”

“Malia”

Scott’s brows furrow “Not Peter?” 

“That’s what I said”

 

-

 

Stiles comes in the next day with nervousness rattling around his bones; he needed this job. Right now Scott and Stiles are stuck at motel with questionable sanitary practices till they can get some kind of steady income going. He goes to the counter to see the same girl from the previous day standing there “Hey, Kira, right?”

“Yes” she gives him the same smile from yesterday “You can go sit at one of the tables, I’ll get Malia for you”

He nods and mumbles a ‘thanks’ before going over and sitting at the table right next to the window. He pulls out his phone, sends his dad a quick text of ‘im okay’ and then sets it down on the table. His fingers tap, annoyingly on the table till the door leading to the back of the counter opens and-- _ holy shit _ . His fingers top drumming and his mouth goes dry--how the fuck is he supposed to be calm and collected when his boss would look like  _ that _ . Her hair falls right at her shoulder blades, it’s a mix of blonde and brown and that Stiles can’t decide is natural or dyed, her skin is practically golden and her legs--god.

“Stiles?”

Of course, her voice is fucking great too “um, yeah”

She sits down across from him and sighs “So you’re looking for a job?”

He nods and forces just how attractive his potential boss is out of his head; he needs to focus “I am”

“You have any experience being a barista?” he sighs and shakes his head “Working with people?”

“I worked at a call center so I know how to get bitched at” he chuckles at his own joke and she cracks a smile but doesn’t laugh “I, um--I just need this job”

She nods, seemingly like she understands “You’re new to town” it isn't a question but Stiles still answers with a ‘yes’ “How long you been in town?”

“Literally a day” 

She nods, somewhere in the back of his head Stiles registers that her name is Malia, and sighs “We can give it a trial run. A month. If you do well, you keep your job, if not, well, then you’re out”

Stiles nods along with her words “yeah, yes, yes that works”

“When can you start?”

“Today”

She gnaws on her bottom lip for a second before sighing “Let me talk to Kira and see if she’s willing to shadow you today, if not, come in tomorrow and I will do it myself” he nods and she walks away leaving Stiles to force himself to stare at the table because he will not check her her. He won’t.

Stiles licks his lips and sighs--some part of him kind of hoped Kira couldn’t because well, his new boss is hot. Sue him for noticing. 

His phone chirps at him, he looks down at the screen to see a long text from his dad. He sighs, swipes it to the left and clears it. He doesn’t feel like being bitched at right now.

“Stiles” he looks up at his name to see Malia’s head peeking out of the door, she waves him over “c’mon”

He refuses to pout at he walks over because, well, Kira is nice. She won’t bite his head when he inevitably messes up. He walks through the doors to see Kira standing next to Malia with a smile on her face, as usual “Congrats!” she says a little too loudly “I knew it’d work out”

“Kira” Malia sighs “you’re too damn loud”

“But you love it”

Malia rolls her eyes “Stiles, Kira will help you throughout the day and don’t ignore her, she’s the second best barista here”

His brow furrows “who’s the first?”

Malia smirks and, well, fuck him is all he has to say to that “You’re looking at her”

 

-

 

The day, in all, isn’t a complete failure.

He picks up everything quickly and does his best to keep up with Kira who looks like she’s worked here for her whole life with how efficiently she runs around. He meets another barista by the name of Isaac but they bump heads because who the fuck wears a scarf to work?

(Isaac, apparently)

His attention span does make a few things bubble over, burn and be late but Kira, the ever patient person, just smiles and tells him not to worry and by the end of the day, he thinks he’s doing okay.

“So” he looks over at Kira who’s rinsing out of the coffee pots “the menu, is that new everyday?”

Kira chuckles and shakes her head “No, that would be a pain in the ass. Malia does them weekly, doesn’t let anyone else do it”

His brow crinkles “why?”

She pauses her hands for a second before continuing on “she just does”

There’s more to it, Stiles can tell but he doesn’t push; he just got this job. He finishes off wiping the counter before continuing his questions “How old is Malia? She looks young”

“20” Kira answers “She’s my age”

“Mine too, apparently”

“Yeah she’s--she’s doing pretty great for a business owner”

“Yeah” he looks around the empty coffee shop “is she--um, single?”

Kira snorts “Lia doesn’t date”

He scrunches his nose “Why?”

Again, she pauses and Stiles watches her carefully as she places her hands on the edge of the sink, sucks in a breath and then looks at Stiles “she just doesn’t” she looks at the clock that hangs on the wall “We should be going now. C’mon, I gotta lock up”

Stiles just does as told.

 

-

 

“You get the job?” is Scott’s first question when Stiles tumbles through the door, his limbs tired and his feet aching.

“Yeah” he throws himself on the bed “And I think my boss in an actual goddess by the way”

Scott chuckles “think you’ll be able to focus?”

“Sure hope so” he groans as he turns around to lie on his back “What about you? Any good news?”

“Oh yeah!” he smiles widely before hopping off his own bed and then jumping on Stiles’ “I got it! The boss was real nice and said he’d been looking for workers. Called me a blessing” Scott has that proud puppy look on his face that causes Stiles to snort and slap his back 

“You’re a blessing to us all, Scotty”

 

-

 

He waits a whole week before initiating any kind of conversation with Malia, that isn’t work related. In that week, he meets Lydia and Ethan, both baristas and both not forthcoming with any information on Malia, both just as guarded as Kira was his first night. Scott comes in and flirts with Kira making her blush and apparently they’re going out next Friday.

And if Scott, can get a date, Stiles think it’s about time he just talks to the girl he’s a little enamoured with.

“So” it’s just him and Malia; Kira went home early after falling ill and Malia was more than happy to send her friend home and just take her place meaning Stiles is closing with her “Were you born here?”

Malia nods as she counts the register “yeah. My parents live just outside of town, what about you?”

His brain trips over the word ‘parents’; he’s pretty sure Kira said ‘was’ and that implied that her father died. He shakes his head, maybe her mom remarried “Um, I was born in Virginia but my parents moved to New York when I was five so I was raised there”

“Why move here?”

She doesn’t even look up from the money in her hands as she asks and he just shakes his head a little “needed to get away”

“Why?”

He chuckles “You just ask anything, huh?”

She, for the first time that night, looks up and she smiles, a little warmly “When you spend your whole second day here, checking me out? Yeah” Stiles flushes in that second and she chuckles “you’re not as smooth as you thought”

“I--I--didn’t--”

“Yeah, yeah” she flaps her hand at him “It’s fine, I get it. I’m not awful to look at” Stiles considers opening his mouth to say something but is pretty sure he’d just become a stuttering mess again so he keeps his lips pressed together “besides, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t doing it right back”

“I-- _ what? _ ” because, of course, that is all his brain can come up with in that second

“You’re good looking” she shrugs “besides I’ve checked out Kira  _ and  _ Lydia so much that I’m pretty sure Jordan hates me a little” she pauses “but he’s pretty secure in their relationship so maybe not” she just shrugs and looks back down at the money in her hands

“I--Jordan?” like that’s the question he should be asking right now

“Lydia’s fiancee”

“Right” he sighs “So do you-- _ like  _ me?” he winces because, god damnit, this isn’t middle school. 

Malia doesn't say anything for a second and then sighs “I don’t date. Especially employees”

“I mean--” he shrugs “Why not?”

“The dating thing or the employee thing?”

“Both, I guess”

She sighs “Too messy. For both. The shop is my main focus and I need to make sure I don’t run her into the ground so, you know” she ends her sentence there and Stiles just licks his lips

“It doesn’t have to be messy”

“But it always is” she shuts the register and looks up at him “You’re hot and I’m sure, it’d be nice for a little bit but--” she looks around at the darkened shop “this place is my home. It’s the only thing I have. I can’t risk it”

She’s about to walk back to the little office that sits in the back of the shop but Stiles gently grabs her hand, stopping her. She raises an eyebrow at him and he quickly snatches his hand back and sighs “Sorry” a beat “I don’t wanna be creepy I don’t wanna be that person so I won’t but, just--one date?” she sighs “One and if you don’t think it goes well, I will forever drop this and never look at your ass again”

She laughs and Stiles can’t help but really wants to hear it again “One?”

“Just one, I swear. I will drop it, if you want me to right now but if you want--just one” 

Malia looks at her feet for a second and then looks back at him “Okay”

“Okay?”

“One date and--” she shrugs “We’ll see how it works”

 

-

 

“You don’t date” 

Malia nods “I know”

Kira shakes her head “Malia, that guy, Theo has asked you out like every week for the last six months and you keep saying no”

“He’s creepy”

“Not the point--you don’t date anyone. You said ‘no’ to Erica, to Theo, to the guy Carter, Amelia--and Amelia was hot”

Malia sighs lightly “She was hot”

“And you said ‘no’” Kira leans back into her chair “So why ‘yes’ to Stiles?”

“I don’t know” and that’s the truth; she doesn’t know. She doesn’t know why she looked at Stiles as when her mouth opened ‘yes’ came out instead of ‘no’. It was just something in the back of her head and, she wouldn’t say it outloud, but it sounded vaguely of her dad. Just a little voice telling her to ‘stop hiding and get out there’.

“Are you excited?”

“A little”

Kira grins “You like him”

Malia rolls her eyes “Don’t start”

“Malia liiiiiiikes Stiles” Kira sings out, her tone light and teasing “You like hiiiim”

“You’re lucky this coffee is hot or I would throw it at you”

 

-

 

Date night comes before she can stop it; Kira promises her to lock up tightly like she always does and to count the register twice to be sure “you look great, Lia” she looks at her sister, who at 13, is a pain in her ass and insisted on coming and seeing her sister off to her first date since high school.

Malia adjusts her blouse and sighs, her eyes glued to her reflection as she stands in front of her mirror “are you sure?”

“Yes” her sister, Melody, comes up and hugs her tightly from behind “You look great”

“Thanks, Mel”

“Mom says to be careful, by the way. Dad too” she sighs and unwraps her hands from around Malia’s waist “Something about a gun?”

Malia rolls her eyes “I swear to god”

There’s a knock at her apartment door and Malia’s stomach flips, at least, three times “he’s here” Melody squeals a little as she starts to take off but is stopped by Malia’s hand on her shirt “Lia” she whines out but the older girl shakes her head

“No, I’m not letting him meet my baby sister on the first date” she sighs “You stay here and make sure to lock both locks, okay? I’ll call you when I’m on my way home”

Melody pouts “Lia--”

“Love you. Be good” she kisses her baby sister’s cheek quickly before going to the door and stepping outside. 

There’s a few tense seconds and then “hi”

He smiles at her “hi” he pauses “so where are we gonna go?”

She grins--she told him she’s going to be the one to pick out the place because he’s been here for literally two weeks, she knows the ins and outs of the town better after 20 years “out to eat and then a movie. The theater isn’t great and only plays movies that are out on Dvd but they’re playing  _ How the Grinch Stole Christma _ s tonight”

He squints at her “Animated of Jim Carrey?”

“Jim Carrey, duh”

 

-

 

The restaurant is nice and Stiles waits a whole twenty movies before asking a personal question, which is like a record for him so whatever. She mentions a sister in passing and he just can’t help but ask

“Why didn’t your sister take the shop?”

She looks up, a little startled “What?”

“I--I mean” he curses his lack of tact “Kira said that the shop is named after your dad”

“Oh” she sighs “My dad died about two years ago now and--it was  _ Hale’s Coffee _ but I didn’t want his last name just up there, I wanted my dad up there”

“How old is your sister then?”

“She’s thirteen but--she can’t take the shop”

His brow quirks “Why not?”

“She’s not my dad’s daughter” his brow furrows and she just chuckles lightly “My mom and dad hooked up once and that resulted in me, my mom married my step-dad about when I was two and they had my sister. I had my mom’s name so when she got married, I took my step-dad’s name”

“You seem really fond of your dad, why didn’t you take his name?”

Malia sighs; she had no problem answering questions, it just got the awkward part out of the way “He wasn’t really involved until I was five or six”

“Oh” he looks down at his plate “Sorry, son of a cop, I can’t help but ask questions”

She cocks her head to the side “A cop?”

“Yeah, he’s the chief now. He’s still back in New York”

She nods and raises her fork to her mouth “And your mom?”

“She, um, died when I was eight”

“Oh” she nods understanding that pain “Sorry”

“It’s alright, it’s been a long time”

They switch over to more lighthearted conversation after that; dead parents can really bring the mood down. He asks her all about how it is running the shop so young (‘hard, really fucking hard’) and she asks him about why he left New York (‘messy break-up, too many memories. Needed a new start’). By the time the bill comes (something they split) Stiles feels pretty confident that everything is going alright.

The town is pretty small so they opt to walk to the theater that sits just about two blocks from them. They stand close together with Stiles’ swinging hand occasionally brushing hers.

“Alright, least favorite color?”

“Easy. purple” 

Malia’s nose scrunches “why?”

“Have you ever seen barney?” Stiles shudders “Fucker creeped the hell out of me”

She laughs and it makes Stiles stomach knot “Okay, favorite color?”

“Um-” he cocks his head to the side “blue”

“Mine’s green” she smiles, softly “reminds me of the trees and the forest by my parent’s home”

“Blue reminds me of this one time, me and Scott went to the beach with our parents. A little trip they had planned forever and then we got there and it started raining and I was so mad because--what the hell?” she chuckles “So my mom looks at me and Scott and said that a little rain never hurt anyone so she took us out and we just played in the rain” his smile is soft as he thinks of that day “it was hell to get wet sand out of my ass for the next three days but so worth it”

Malia smiles “Sounds nice”

“What about you?” she looks over at him, a questioning look on her face “Any memories about your dad?”

“Oh” she shakes her head “Not really, I mean--he used to run the shop. Started it when I was ten and when it first started he was always changing the menu and so he decided chalk was the way to go and I always wanted to write it with him so he let me” she shrugs “Nothing big but it was something I loved to do, I would always draw around the words and everything and he never erased it” Stiles nods as he understands why she does it by herself now--it was her and dad’s thing and now it’s her thing.

They arrive at the movies where they got where they quickly pay, grab a drink and then settle in the nearly empty nearly theater right in the middle. “This is my favorite Christmas movie” they say at the same time causing Malia to snort 

“Of course, we would both like the movie with Jim Carrey and a little too many adult jokes” she leans back into her seat “perfect christmas movie”

“Duh” 

The grinch is holding a mistletoe to his ass and telling all the whos to kiss it is when Stiles decides to reach over and take Malia’s hand in his own, carefully and gently. He looks over at her to see her grinning “what?” he asks, just loud enough for her to hear

She leans over, her lips dangerously close to his ear “Took you long enough”

 

-

 

He doesn’t let go of her hand for the rest of the night and Malia really doesn’t mind.

 

-

 

“So” they’re standing at her door a little awkwardness settling on them “Good date?” he asks and she smiles softly while nodding 

“Good date”

“Another date?”

She smiles “Maybe” she looks at the door “I would probably invite you on on a normal night to drink something or--I don’t know” she shrugs “But my sister is inside probably dying to hear all about you”

“Well she’s staring pretty intensely so” she follows his line of vision to see Melody’s eyes peeking through the blinds 

Malia hits the window, not too hard, but hard enough for them to hear a grumbled ‘ow’ from inside. Malia chuckles and sighs “Sorry, first date in like two and half years, she was pretty sure I was going to shrivel up and die alone till tonight”

Stiles laughs “you’re only 20” 

“She thinks in extremes” she pauses “I really did have a nice time tonight”

“Me too” 

She looks down at her does, seems to consider something for a minute and then looks back up at him. She lets out a breath and then she’s leaning up, pressing her lips against his; he lets out a soft little surprised noise before leaning down and returning the kiss, softly.

But then she’s pulling back.

He chases her lips for a second before pulling back “Wow”

“I may have been downplaying how nice this night was”

He chuckles “So another one?”

Malia smiles “yeah, another one” she pecks his cheek one last time before bidding him goodnight and going into her apartment. She lets out a light sigh and tries to wipe the smile off her face but she just can’t.

“You were holding his hand” she looks at her sister who is smiling at her widely and she just can’t stop smiling so it takes all the bite out of the ‘shut up’ she tells her.

 

-

 

“Must’ve been a good date” Stiles looks at Scott 

“What?”

“You’ve been smiling for like twenty whole minutes” 

Stiles tries to frown but his face is a dan traitor and just won’t let him “shut up” 

Scott just smiles “proud of you, bro”

 

-

 

Stiles goes into work the next day but Malia isn’t there when he gets there, Kira is “Hey, Kir” he says happily, his mood still annoyingly happy about last night 

“Oooh” Kira’s grin, and he really didn’t think it was possible, grows “Sounds like someone had a nice night”

“You too, huh” he bumps her hip with his own “Scotty talked my ear off for like an hour”

Kira blushes “It was nice. He’s--he’s great”

“Trust me, I know”

She sighs and shakes her head “So how was yours?”

He really tries to not smile and play it casually but he can’t. Stupid face. “It was great. Ate dinner, watched _ How the Grinch Stole Christmas _ ”

“Sounds perfect” her tone is teasing but he just sighs 

“It was”

 

-

 

No one brings Stiles mood down, not even Isaac who comes in at noon and makes some sarcastic comment at him. Stiles doesn’t bristle or frown, he just smiles and compliments his scarf.

(Isaac is stunned for a good five minutes)

 

-

 

He sees Malia the day after. 

He comes in earlier than usual to see Malia already inside, sitting down at one of the couches with the coffee table pulled closer to her. He breezes inside to see the menus taken off the wall and placed on the coffee table “morning”

Malia’s head snaps up “Oh, morning” 

He eyes the chalk board for a second before nodding his head towards the counter “I’m gonna go set up the coffee; Ethan moved it around yesterday to fuck with Kira”

She chuckles “Stiles, you can come here” she pats the space next to her and he hesitates for a second before going over and plopping down next to her. He’s silent for a second before she picks up a piece of green chalk and hands it to him.

“I don’t know what to write”

“Don’t write” she shrugs “Draw if you want”

He eyes her “Are you sure?”

She nods, unaffected at his questions “It was always a two person thing. I think I should quit hogging it”

And that’s how the menus for the week end up with a green death star, a red sun, blue rain drops and a tree, all in green thrown all over the menu. 

(and a purple figure that vaguely looks like barney is drawn by Malia who does get pinched for that)

 

-

 

“Hey” Lydia comes up next to Malia, that day her nose scrunched and her eyes glued to the top of the menu “What’s with that terrifying purple thing on the menu?”

Stiles lets out a bark of laughter from his place on the other side of the counter “Ha! Told you it was creepy!”

 

-

 

A week passes when Malia and Stiles find themselves laid out on the couch in the shop. Her legs are thrown over his lap and his legs are propped up on the coffee table, his torso is bent at an uncomfortable angle with his head resting on Malia’s stomach, her hand in his hair.

(both of them covered in chalk dust after a brief disagreement about whether or not barney should make another appearance on the board)

They’re both asleep when Kira opens the shop door with Lydia right on her heels “I knew it!” Lydia whispers harshly into the dark shop “I knew they were going out!”

Kira just smiles, takes a picture and lets the smell of coffee take them out of their slumber.

 

-

 

“You really like her, huh?”

Stiles suppresses a grin “be quiet”

“It’s nice to see you happy again, Stiles” Scott says softly with a warm smile on his face and Stiles can’t help but smile then cause how in the hell is he supposed to ignore that smile? C’mon

“Thanks, Scotty”

 

-

 

“You like him” Kira pauses “a lot”

“I do” Malia answers “Not a big deal”

“Big deal” she scooches over on the couch so can lay her head on her best friend’s shoulder “I haven’t seen you this happy in awhile” Malia doesn’t say anything “Kind of proves something can give you happiness other than the shop, right?”

Malia smiles, softly and to herself “yeah”

 

-

 

It happens three weeks after their first date and two days after their third date. He breezes into the shop to see Malia with the menus laid out in front of her, the new week lying calling for them to be fixed up again. He goes over and doesn’t even think when he lays a kiss on her cheek “morning”

Malia seems stunned for a second because there hasn't been too much affection between them outside of their dates but then she gets all warm inside and she has to shove that down so she doesn’t grin like an idiot “morning”

He just picks up the green chalk and gets to drawing big leaves all over the menu.

 

-

 

“Oh shit” Stiles’ head snaps at Malia’s hushed words, she’s working the counter today which is something she hardly does because while she’s managed to give the shop great success, she’s not great with customers; that’s why she has people like Kira and Ethan.

He looks at the door to see a man who looks like he could break Stiles in half and a woman standing next to him with dark hair and tan skin, who also looks like she could break Stiles in half.

“Mal” the woman yells out, reaching across the counter and yanking Malia into an uncomfortable hug. She lets go and the man leans over and kisses Malia’s cheek and Stiles wants to say something but with a quick wave of her hand under the counter, he just focuses on coffee.

“Derek, Laura” Malia looks tense “What are you doing here?”

“Wanted to see you, baby” the woman, Laura, says lovingly “It’s been so long”

“Well--” Malia sighs and shakes her head like she thought better of whatever she was going to say “It’s nice to see you” she gives them a tight smile “Lemme go over there” she walks past Stiles and gives his hand a quick squeeze before opening the door and going over to them.

“So what you are doing in town?” Malia’s arms are crossed over her chest, her whole body is stiff but Laura doesn’t seem to notice while Derek is more than aware of it “You haven't been back since--you know”

Laura sighs “yes, well, Cora is graduating. Had to come back for our baby sister”

Malia nods her head “right. Give her my love”

“You should come”

Derek opens his mouth “Laura--”

“No, Derek” Laura looks back to Malia “Lee, Mom is over it, okay? She--she regrets what she did but she can’t tell you because you won’t listen to her”

“Yeah, well, I’m not family remember?” Malia shakes her head “Look, I--I love you all but I can’t do that. What she said about Mel and my mom and dad--”

“Henry isn't--”

Malia gives her a hard glare that makes even Stiles shrink “Don’t finish that sentence”

Derek stands between Malia and Laura “We should go, we don’t wanna take up too much of your time” he leans down and kisses her forehead “I love you, Malia”

“Love you too”

Laura sighs and goes to hug Malia but stops when Malia takes a step back “Right” she sighs “We’ll be sure to give Cora your love”

And like that, they’re gone.

Malia stands in that spot for a moment before sucking in a breath and going back behind the counter. Stiles moves over, carefully, and takes her hand under the counter “Lia?”

“I, um--” she shakes her head “Can we talk about it later?” he nods and she just gives him her best smile but it doesn’t reach her eyes leaving Stiles to be worried for the rest of the day.

 

-

 

The shop is dark.  Everyone has gone home and the front door is locked, the only light comes from outside and leaks through the windows. 

Malia and Stiles sit on the couch; he waiting for her to start the conversation while she tries to squash down her nerves of telling him why what happened in the shop earlier that day, happened.

“You don’t--”

“Shut up” her words aren’t mean, they’re just soft as she tries to gather her strength “just--hold on”

“Okay” he takes her hand in his and she just laces the them together and squeezes it softly. A whole fifteen minutes pass before she swallows, hard and speaks 

“When--when I took control of the shop, my Aunt Talia told me I should take my dad’s name. Hale” she pauses “I told her ‘no’ because as much as I loved him and missed him, Tate is my name. He wasn’t around when I was a baby, when I was a toddler, my other dad was. He was there and--and I couldn’t be more grateful for that” she sighs “It became a big fight because she thought the owner of Hale’s Coffee should have the last name so I changed the name” a beat as Malia gathers more courage to finish the story

“Then she got mad. Accused me of trying to erase Hale from my life when--when I was working so hard to keep that part in my life. I was only ever really close to my dad and my cousin, Derek and--well, I just wasn’t really close to anybody else” Stiles nods along as that interaction that he witnessed earlier that day makes a little more sense.

“And then she told to tell me how I wasn’t family because my mom took me away and got married and how my sister wasn’t really my sister because we didn’t have the same dad and--how my dad wasn’t my dad” he looks over to see a two tears roll down her face “I loved--” she pauses “I love my Aunt Talia but--I couldn’t let her just say that about my family. About my mom, my dad, my sister so--” she swallows “I told her I didn’t want her in my life, that if I wasn’t family she didn’t have to come into the shop or see me. She tried to take the shop from me too but with the will, she lost that battle” she shrugs “I haven’t seen her since” she sighs “That was Derek and Laura, my cousins. Cora is their younger sister. They keep trying to make me see her, Talia, but I don’t want to, not after what she said” 

“You don’t have to see her. It isn’t your job to make her feel better about what she said” he hoped he wasn’t overstepping over any boundaries 

“I know” she sniffs “It’s nice hear that from someone else though”

He squeezes her hand “I got you”

A beat passes and then she leans over, her head resting against Stiles’ shoulder “thanks for listening”

He kisses her head and then rests his cheek against it “thanks for telling me”

 

-

 

He gets home, to the motel, that night (just a little more to save up before they can get an actual apartment) to find Scott gone, probably on a date with Kira. He sits on the edge of the bed and fiddles with his phone for a good ten minutes before unlocking it and pressing down on his dad’s contact name. He brings the phone to his ear and waits only two rings before his dad’s voice comes through “Stiles?”

“Hey dad”

“I--” he swallows, hard “are you okay?”

Stiles nods even though he knows his father can’t see him “Yeah, yeah I just--I wanted to call you and--and tell you that--” he sighs “Dad, I know I moved kind of.. _ abruptly-- _ ” his father snorts “But I don’t want you out of my life. You're my dad and just cause I needed to get away from the city doesn’t mean I don’t wanna be near you or that I don’t love you” he pauses “I need you to know that”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah” he nods and chuckles “i’m good just--you’re my family, pops. I don’t want me moving to splits us up. Mom would kill us from the beyond”

His father laughs “yeah she would” a beat “I miss you son”

“I miss you too but it’s good” he nods “I’m good out here”

“You sure?”

“Positive”

His dad doesn’t speak for a moment and then “good. You deserve good, Stiles” another beat “i love you”

“Love you too”

 

-

 

Derek comes in later that week while Malia was out. Stiles is at the counter while Kira works the machines when the large man comes to the counter and sighs “You’re dating my cousin right?” Kira’s head snaps over because she’s been Malia’s best friend since high school, she knows how little she speaks to her Hale family and why. The paler of the two looks stunned causing Derek to huff “With how your were hovering yesterday, it was pretty obvious” a beat “So you’re dating her, right?”

Stiles sighs “I--yeah” technically they hadn't talked about it but with all the kisses, hand holding and dates, well, he’s pretty sure they are “Why?”

“Has she told you why we don’t come around?”

“Yeah”

Derek nods, he looks down at the counter for a second and sighs before looking back up at him “Take care of her, alright? She’s been through too much shit for someone else to just go and hurt her”

“She can take care of herself but--” Stiles nods “I will”

“I love her, I do tell her that for me, please” his eyes shine and they're filled with--well, Stiles isn’t an expert on people but he knows regret when he sees it. Derek takes a five out of his wallet and stuffs it in the tip jar “For your time”

And then he’s gone.

“She told you?”

Stiles shakes his head, a little trying to clear this thoughts of what the hell just happened and looks back at Kira “Um, yeah”

She smiles, a little sadly because she hates how much Malia hurts over that whole situation “She must really like you”

He smiles “hope so”

 

-

 

“Hey, Lia” it’s been a week since Derek’s visit; he told Malia what Derek told him and she didn’t have much of a reaction other than ‘okay’. She promises that she’s okay and her situation with her family is something she’s grown used to but she does also promise to talk to him, or Kira, should she feel any differently.

She looks over at him from counting the register, he smiles a little because this reminds him an awful lot of where they were when he asked her out “yeah?”

“We’re dating, right?”

There’s a pause from her that makes his heart stop for a moment; the radio Lydia had flicked on earlier in the day is still playing and he can make out  _ ‘i can’t escape it now, i am in too deep to get out _ ’ causing him to internally snort because yeah, that’s exactly what’s happening right now. The pause is suddenly stopped though as she chuckles, puts down the money and closes the space between them, her arms wrap around his waist and her head titled back to look in the eye “Don't ask stupid questions, Stiles” she kisses him softly, her arms going from his waist to his neck while his hands rest on her hips. They kiss for a few minutes, not too heated just soft and sweet before he pulls back, a playful glint in his eye

“So is that a yes?”

She just laughs and kiss him a again, mumbling a yes against his mouth. The radio continues to play in fill in the silence that was now comfortable and sweet 

_ ‘You’re taking my heart, by storm i am lost in your love’ _

 

-

 

If she closes her eyes and sits on her father's favorite chair when the place is dark and everyone goes home, she can almost feel her dad’s presence it’s like he’s hugging her and telling her everything is gonna be okay. She does it often when she feels lost and scared but, lately, she doesn’t feel so lost or scared.

She’s convinced he knew what would happen should she take that little shop, he knew she’d find something,  _ someone  _ who would be what she was to him. The best part of his day, the light in all the darkness, someone who loved him no matter what, now matter his mistakes.

And she did. She found him.

(so four years later on her wedding day to the man she fell love with at the tiny little shop, she curls up on her father’s favorite chair and whispers a soft ‘thanks, dad’)

 

-

 

On the corner of Grace and Sunset, in the sleepy town of Beacon Hills, you can find a tiny coffee shop. It’s red brick exterior is so bright, it’s an eyesore, the sign that hangs above the doors is crooked and there’s a graffitied penis on the side of the building but it’s where Stiles Stilinski and Malia Tate found each other.

It’s where they fell in love.

(another reason to add on to why she loves the place so much)

 

-

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews would be the best christmas present ever!


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